Carowinds Discussion Thread

[RyanTPM]

Fantastic photos, absolutely love that last one!

[DorneyKid14]

Got the the park around 8ish. Unfortunately a storm rolled in as soon as I got buckled into fury. Noticed they are pushing some dirt around near the parking booths.

 

Also saw some markings on the grown around Chick-fil-A

[Jaykethekid]

Are there any coasters at the park that are particularly not large rider friendly? I know i can fit in the B&M's other than Vortex since i am yet to ride a B&M stand up. I am trying desperately to make Fury 325 my 100th coaster, and if there is a coaster that i might not fit in, i want to make sure i've accounted for the possible rejection before i visit.

[FSUFanChris]

Are there any coasters at the park that are particularly not large rider friendly? I know i can fit in the B&M's other than Vortex since i am yet to ride a B&M stand up. I am trying desperately to make Fury 325 my 100th coaster, and if there is a coaster that i might not fit in, i want to make sure i've accounted for the possible rejection before i visit.

Do Intimidator first. If you fit on Intimidator, you fit on Fury.

[Jaykethekid]

Are there any coasters at the park that are particularly not large rider friendly? I know i can fit in the B&M's other than Vortex since i am yet to ride a B&M stand up. I am trying desperately to make Fury 325 my 100th coaster, and if there is a coaster that i might not fit in, i want to make sure i've accounted for the possible rejection before i visit.

Do Intimidator first. If you fit on Intimidator, you fit on Fury.

Ive been on B&M trains like that recently, so i know i will fit in those. The two vekomas are what concern me the most, as i have not been on either of those kind of trains before.

[FSUFanChris]

Are there any coasters at the park that are particularly not large rider friendly? I know i can fit in the B&M's other than Vortex since i am yet to ride a B&M stand up. I am trying desperately to make Fury 325 my 100th coaster, and if there is a coaster that i might not fit in, i want to make sure i've accounted for the possible rejection before i visit.

Do Intimidator first. If you fit on Intimidator, you fit on Fury.

Ive been on B&M trains like that recently, so i know i will fit in those. The two vekomas are what concern me the most, as i have not been on either of those kind of trains before.

I was at 220 lbs during my highest and my friend was about 270. We both have had zero issues on any of the coasters at Carowinds, including Vortex, Carolina Cobra, and even the... ugh.... Flying ACE Arial Chase. Goldrusher was a bit tight but just make sure you get one of the front cars.

[DorneyKid14]

Are there any coasters at the park that are particularly not large rider friendly? I know i can fit in the B&M's other than Vortex since i am yet to ride a B&M stand up. I am trying desperately to make Fury 325 my 100th coaster, and if there is a coaster that i might not fit in, i want to make sure i've accounted for the possible rejection before i visit.

Do Intimidator first. If you fit on Intimidator, you fit on Fury.

Ive been on B&M trains like that recently, so i know i will fit in those. The two vekomas are what concern me the most, as i have not been on either of those kind of trains before.

I was at 220 lbs during my highest and my friend was about 270. We both have had zero issues on any of the coasters at Carowinds, including Vortex, Carolina Cobra, and even the... ugh.... Flying ACE Arial Chase. Goldrusher was a bit tight but just make sure you get one of the front cars.

 

I just got back from the park and I'm just under 250lbs and I had no problem on fury and intimidator

[Canobie Coaster]

I'll be at the park for the first time in 2 weeks on a Saturday. It will be my first visit and I don't anticipate being back for a lpng time so I was planning on getting a Fast Lane. Some questions-

 

1) Should I buy the Fast Lane in advance in case they sell out or is that a low probability? I wanted to wait until 2-3 days before my visit to confirm the weather is good.

 

2) Does the Fast Lane merge into the station or am I given a pre-assigned row?

 

3) Are there any rides not on Fast Lane that I should hit early to avoid a bad wait later?

 

4) Do you have tips for the best seats on rides?

[Gav]

A simple one, but is it possible to upgrade a Fastlane to a Fastlane Plus during your visit?

 

The reason being is that currently on the CW website they sell an all inclusive one day ticket, which includes Fastlane regular, Parking, Drinks and a Dining Pass.

 

Fastlane Regular is a bit of a problem because it doesnt include Fury, Intimidator or Nighthawk...So Im wondering if I can just go in with that, then pay extra during the day to upgrade to a plus?

[Brad]

Saturday's are generally busy this time of year - so your options are to purchase in advance (save a few dollars) and risk the park not being that crowded (bad weather, for example) or wait until you arrive.

 

My advice would be not to waste money on the Regular if you don't have the option to splurge on the Plus.

 

No clue if you can upgrade day of (I don't see why they wouldn't).

[Mich17mak]

I'll be at the park for the first time in 2 weeks on a Saturday. It will be my first visit and I don't anticipate being back for a lpng time so I was planning on getting a Fast Lane. Some questions-

 

1) Should I buy the Fast Lane in advance in case they sell out or is that a low probability? I wanted to wait until 2-3 days before my visit to confirm the weather is good.

 

2) Does the Fast Lane merge into the station or am I given a pre-assigned row?

 

3) Are there any rides not on Fast Lane that I should hit early to avoid a bad wait later?

 

4) Do you have tips for the best seats on rides?

 

1 - I'm not sure, but I can't imagine that they sell out several days in advance, so you can probably wait to see what the weather is like and then decide at that point. I agree that Saturdays are the busiest time of the week of course, but most of the top coasters have a high capacity so the lines tend to move quickly (except for Nighthawk). If you decide on Fast Lane, go with the Plus since that one includes the rides that would have the longest wait anyway.

 

2 - The Fast Lane is its own lane that leads right into the station (it doesn't merge with the regular lane prior to the loading area) for the newer rides (Intimidator, Fury, Windseeker). I'm not sure about the older coasters (you may go through the exit for some? Either way, you basically avoid the regular line). About the pre-assigned rows - They almost always assign rows on Fury, Intimidator, Nighthawk, Afterburn, and some of the other coasters. Rarely have I been able to pick my own row on those coasters, though it sometimes happens, but you'll most likely be assigned a seat especially if it's busy.

 

3 - Again, I'd go for the Fast Lane Plus...it's only $15 more, and if you're willing to pay that much for a Fast Lane, then you can probably afford to bump it up. From my experience, the longest (and slowest moving) lines are Boo Blasters and Nighthawk, but those are on the Fast Lane Plus. I don't go on water rides, so no comment on any of those lines.

 

4 - You usually cannot pick your seat on most of the coasters. I'm more of a front row person b/c I like the view, but back row gives you a bit more punch.

[FSUFanChris]

1) Should I buy the Fast Lane in advance in case they sell out or is that a low probability? I wanted to wait until 2-3 days before my visit to confirm the weather is good.

 

2) Does the Fast Lane merge into the station or am I given a pre-assigned row?

 

3) Are there any rides not on Fast Lane that I should hit early to avoid a bad wait later?

 

4) Do you have tips for the best seats on rides?

1. You will need the FL+, but I think you can wait to gauge the weather.

2. It has its own lane. You can request a row, but it's not guaranteed.

3. Ricochet is the only one I can think of that does not use FL and has low capacity. Hit that ride first thing.

4. Fury: front row, far right seat (aka: front row and be the last on the train). Intimidator: 5th row for maximum floater air over the crests. Last row for the speed down the first drop. Afterburn: Front row.

[thepoint4life23]

Since i will be going next week. To the do Early entry with Platinum passes like Cedar point and kings island or is that a no?

[GCI Wooden]

Since i will be going next week. To the do Early entry with Platinum passes like Cedar point and kings island or is that a no?

You get 30 minutes of ERT on Fury with your pass.

[Canobie Coaster]

Thanks for the help guys. That's a shame you can't wait for a particular seat on the big coasters, but I'm used to it from my home park (SFNE). I still can't believe the only ride with choice seating is the SLC...

[prozach626]

Thanks for the help guys. That's a shame you can't wait for a particular seat on the big coasters, but I'm used to it from my home park (SFNE). I still can't believe the only ride with choice seating is the SLC...

 

Ask quickly and politely every time. We did this and picked our own seats almost every other time. I think we asked for the front three or four times and were granted with two front seat rides. All other requests were for the back seat and we were only directed elsewhere a few times, which we were fine with.

 

Or, you could just do like everyone else does and just go wherever you want #merica style. Seriously though, if I only had one day and had been denied a front seat to the coaster after repeated attempts, I'd probably just walk to the front once. Either way, it's really nothing to stress about. You'll get your rides in.

 

On a side note, I'd rather ride in the middle of Fury any day of the week over my choice of any seat on 99% of other coasters anywhere.

[DorneyKid14]

Thanks for the help guys. That's a shame you can't wait for a particular seat on the big coasters, but I'm used to it from my home park (SFNE). I still can't believe the only ride with choice seating is the SLC...

 

I was there this past Saturday and lines were small. 10 minute wait for fury on a Saturday in July. The longest was about an hour on nighthawk, which was due to the fact that I could of filled up a gallon of maple syrup faster than the ops dispatched a train. Intimidator was a 20 minute wait and after burn was a 10 minute wait.

 

Get the Carowinds app, the wait times are spot on.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

^That's good to hear. Usually the apps are kind of pointless.

 

I'm going to Carowinds on August 1st and 2nd. If I want to choose a row and they don't let me, what do I do if they still refuse after I ask? I would like someone to do a social experiment of sorts, where they try to ignore, ask repeatedly after being told "no", or debate the seat-assigners and try to manage to pick your seat on every ride. It's probably stupid, but I think that's a cool idea.

[prozach626]

It's probably stupid

 

and pointless

[coasterbill]

I would like someone to do a social experiment of sorts, where they try to ignore, ask repeatedly after being told "no", or debate the seat-assigners and try to manage to pick your seat on every ride.

 

I like the way you worded that. Calling what you described a "social experiment" makes it sound more appealing than calling it by it's traditional name of "acting like a f**king insufferable dick all day".

[michaellynn4]

^

 

I was going to say "act like an immature @$$hole, but I like the way you said it better.

 

How about if they say no, then suck it up and don't give the workers a hard time when they're just doing their jobs? Is that really such a hard concept to grasp?

[DorneyKid14]

So when I was at Carowinds, I noticed these outside and all around Chick-fil-A. Wonder if they could be for the flats?

 

Any way, my first trip to Carowinds was awesome, to some leaves. Few months back, I was at work and asked Fehnel how crowds would be at the park. He said they shouldn't be to bad since their peak time in spring break. A little worried about how they would be giving it was the weekend after four of July, I went hoping for the best. And that's what I got. The 95 degree heat might of kept some people away, but that didn't stop me.

 

Got to the park Friday night, but a storm rolled through right after I got there, so that was a a waste of two hours.

 

Saturday got to the park around 11am. The sun was shinning but the coasters were roaring. Entered through the south gate hoping to hit up after burn right away, but unfortunately it didn't open until later in the day. So first ride would be intimidator, and I was amazing. First drop was awesome and the airtime hills were thrilling. Next on the list was Nighthawk, and that was a mistake. Waited an hour for the worst ride of my life. Then I headed on over to fury 325. I was a little scared not gonna lie. The night before I was buckled in, lap bar checked, ready to go when they closed for weather. So I was even more ready to go on. The ten minute wait was nice, but walking up and getting front row on my first ever ride was even nicer. This ride is perfect. The drop, the speed, the smoothness, everything is perfect. I think gatekeeper my still be my number one coaster, but I think fury is very very very close behind. My favorite part of the ride is going through the S-curves.

 

After that, I went and hit up the water park. The new wave pool is nice, thought it was bigger. Since when did parks alot tubes in a wave pool? A few kids had them and I was a little confused. After the water park, Chick-fil-A was the choosen one for food. Then came after burn since it finally opened, and it was better than Banshee in my opinion. Favorite invert by far. Then came another spin on fury and called it a day.

 

All in all, other than the heat, I enjoyed Carowinds and will be making trips down there in the next few years.

More photogenic than gatekeeper? Eh probably not.

Edited July 13, 2016 by DorneyKid14

[prozach626]

I think gatekeeper my still be my number coaster, but I think fury is very very very close behind. My favorite part of the ride is going through the S-curves.

 

Hah! I think you just made history with that comment, brother!

 

Glad to see you enjoyed your trip. Fury really put Carowinds on the map.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

^

 

I was going to say "act like an immature @$$hole, but I like the way you said it better.

 

How about if they say no, then suck it up and don't give the workers a hard time when they're just doing their jobs? Is that really such a hard concept to grasp?

Sorry, it seems like there is a bit of a misunderstanding. If I decide to spend time and money to get to a park 10 hours away, I honestly do not feel guilty for "annoying" an employee who is strict enough to lessen a guest's experience over a rule that doesn't have any purpose. If the operator would just let you choose a row if you ask, that's fine. But in my opinion, an operator who constantly refuses to let the paying customers of a park choose their own row is being the @$$hole in that case, and I just believe that they should be treated as such. But I do see your point at how my previous comment wasn't thought-out well.

[FSUFanChris]

^

 

I was going to say "act like an immature @$$hole, but I like the way you said it better.

 

How about if they say no, then suck it up and don't give the workers a hard time when they're just doing their jobs? Is that really such a hard concept to grasp?

Sorry, it seems like there is a bit of a misunderstanding. If I decide to spend time and money to get to a park 10 hours away, I honestly do not feel guilty for "annoying" an employee who is strict enough to lessen a guest's experience over a rule that doesn't have any purpose. If the operator would just let you choose a row if you ask, that's fine. But in my opinion, an operator who constantly refuses to let the paying customers of a park choose their own row is being the @$$hole in that case, and I just believe that they should be treated as such. But I do see your point at how my previous comment wasn't thought-out well.

He or she's getting paid to do a job and they are doing that job. What part of that is difficult to understand?